1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to a system used to determine the productivity and efficiency of an operator using loading machinery, such as wheeled loaders, track type loaders, scrapers, back hoes, cranes, shovel loaders, etc. The system will provide the operator with information regarding each load such as the weight and volume of the load being carried, the total volume and weight of the load delivered to a particular location, and how much more of the load should be delivered to that location.
2. Description Of The Related Prior Art
In industry, it is often necessary to know the quantity of raw or manufactured materials transported into or out of a plant or business. Such information is used for billing purposes, providing the client with the exact amount requested, regulating the maximum weight of trucks on the road, limiting the quantity of material used in a manufacturing process, etc. One way to regulate the weight is to use scales in which the material is brought to the scales, placed on the scales, and weighed. In some cases it may be necessary to add more material or subtract from it and the location to load the material and the location of the scales are sometimes different, for example in the case of transporting bulk materials by truck to and from a manufacturing plant. Such procedures are time costly.
However, in the prior art, there are known devices which allow for the dynamic measuring of the quantity of material as it is being loaded and moved.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,281,729, issued on Aug. 4, 1981, to James E. Farley et al. is concerned with the precise measuring of raw materials while the material is transported by a bucket to a furnace.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,794 issued Mar. 7, 1989 to James R. Blair et al. discloses an apparatus for measuring the quantity of material delivered per cycle by measuring the quantity of material delivered per cycle by a shovel loader.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,222 issued Apr. 24, 1990 to Christos T. Kyrtsos et al. discloses a dynamic payload monitor for determining the weight of a load by curve fitting the sensed cylinder pressure of the lift arm cylinders and then displaying the weight as well as the total weight measured.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,468 issued Feb. 26, 1991 to Masao Fukuda, discloses a load weight measuring system in which the weight of each load is measured as it is transported to a particular location and the weight of each load is subtracted from a total desired weight to be delivered to that particular location, thereby informing the operator of the loader how much more material is to be delivered to that location.
Japanese Patent No. 59-80841 to Mamorv Arazeki, issued May 5, 1984, and Japanese Patent No. 59-85047 to Jiyun Arazeki, issued May 16, 1984, disclose a device for determining the actual number of operating times and the total operating time of a bulldozer or the like.
None of the above disclosures show using the accumulated weight and volume of material delivered during a working period to determine the efficiency and productivity of the operator of the loader. For example, in earth moving operations, a cost estimate for moving a given quantity of bulk dirt has to be determined by estimating the overall cost of moving each cubic yard of earth. This estimate is necessary for determining a bid for a contract and is done in part by knowing approximately how many cubic yards of earth an operator generally moves per unit time with a particular loader. In order to come up with a dependable approximation of the overall cost to accomplish a given job, an estimator relies on experience in past field operations. Typically, the estimator might stand in the field for an hour and watch a scraper work. Knowing the loaded capacity of a scraper in cubic yards, the estimator approximates the quantity of earth in each load and totals it over an hour to come up with a per day production figure. Such operations are time costly and not very accurate. The device of the present invention would enable an estimator to make a more valid approximation.